The Kremlin has invited Finland’s ambassador to Russia to discuss the seizure of Finnish customs’ works of art in Russia.
On Wednesday, Finnish customs announced that they had seized three consignments of works of art at the Vaalimaa border crossing during the weekend.
According to Customs and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, items worth 42 million euros are included in the list of sanctions imposed by the EU against Russia.
Authorities have launched an investigation into suspected gross violations, and 10 people are currently under investigation. No arrests have been made so far.
The Russian Foreign Ministry addressed the issue on Thursday in a press release stating "What happened cannot be described as anything other than illegal."
Yle contacted the Foreign Minister on Thursday Pekka Haavisto (Green), who is currently in Brussels, to get his views on the matter.
Haavisto stated that the consignments were seized correctly by the customs authorities and that they must always comply strictly with EU regulations.
He said he believed that works of particular value to cultural heritage, such as paintings and sculptures, were among the museums from which they were originally borrowed.
He hopes that the matter can be resolved quickly, Haavisto pointed out that sanctions against Russia have progressed so fast that not all situations have been taken into account.
"Finland has no reason to seize objects from any museum," he said and pointed out that objects must be handled with care and respect and require special conditions of heat and humidity.
"They should be returned to the museums to which they belong," he added.
The Russian authorities are demanding the return of the seized goods
Spokesman for the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova said on Wednesday that Russia expects Finland to return the works soon. He also referred to the seizure of goods as illegal.
Zakharova’s statements on the matter were widely covered in the Russian media.
Speaker of the Russian Duma Vyacheslav Volodin has also demanded that Finland return the works and pay compensation for the confiscation to Russia.
The St. Petersburg-based Fontanka newspaper used to be confirmed With the Russian Ministry of Culture that among the seized objects were works by the Hermitage of St. Petersburg and the Tretyakov Gallery of the Moscow State, which had been exhibited in Italy.
Some of the art had also been on loan in an exhibition in Japan.
Russia’s news agency TASS said that Russia’s ambassador for international cultural cooperation Mikhail Shvydkoy had argued that the shipments had been delayed due to sanctions and that they would be returned at the end of the bureaucratic procedures.
Source: The Nordic Page